Left foot - toe - blister just by the nail

by Fulchand
(Toronto, ON. Canada)

I am a diabetes. One day while I returned from mmy daily walk I noticed a blister on my left foot toe. ai let it stay as it was. washed and cleaned my toes and feet as usual.I thought that this was due to a long walk - 11KM and my toe must have had contact with the shoe. after a couple of days it disappeared and skin became normal.

Once again ablister was formed - I did not do anything. The watery substance inside the blister disappeared but the skin is soft and whitish. It is almost ten days now.

What could be the reason. Why it happened and how serious it is?

I shall be grateful for your reply.

Thank you

F. S.

RESPONSE

Hi Fulchand,

I am curious as to why all of a sudden you keep getting a blister on the same toe. I will assume that you go for long walks on a regular basis so this is nothing new.
I would be curious to know if you are wearing a new pair of walking shoes. Additionally, if you are not wearing a new pair of shoes, are your present shoes still in good condition?
Do your shoes have any stitching inside the shoe that may be rubbing against or toe? Are the shoes not only wide enough, but is the toe box high enough as well?
It is summer and many people will notice that their feet swell and perspire more in hotter weather. If your feet happen to be swelling more so than usual that would put increased pressure of your toe against the shoe. Combined with increased perspiration, your toe could blister.
You do not mention it, but does your toe itch as well?
The problem of course is that you are diabetic. You do not mention if your diabetes is controlled or not. The blistering becomes a bigger issue if your blood sugars are elevated.
If your blood sugars are elevated and your circulation is somewhat compromised, then the blistering becomes a potential health hazard in that it could become infected. Once infected, with elevated blood sugars and perhaps poor circulation, it then creates the "perfect storm" for a diabetic infection.
It is situations like this that end up getting diabetics in trouble with their feet,simple foot problems that can be readily solved.
Since I do not have the luxury of actually examining you, the best advice I could ever give you would be to see a foot specialist in your area and let he or she look at the blister and examine your feet.
In the examination the doctor will assess your circulation, your neurological status, examine the blister (bring along your walking shoes for the doctor to also look at). Along with taking a medical history the podiatrist should be able to offer advice on mainly how to avoid getting repeated blisters and what to do if you should develop further blisters.
Taking this simple precaution could easily save you a lot of aggravation going forward.

Marc Mitnick DPM
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